Did the shortstop position begin in the outfield then move into the infield?

2006-09-17 12:06:48

2006-09-17 12:06:48

I have always heard a couple of different answers to this
question. The one that I think makes the most sense requires you to
know that there used to be 4 outfielders and 3 basemen. In 1849, DL
Adams invented the shortshop position by moving one of the
outfielders in, basically having him "stop short" of his normal
position (or possibly so that he could "stop the ball short" of the
outfield). He realized that 3 outfielders would be able to handle
almost any fly ball and that having another infielder "close the
gap" between 2nd and 3rd would prevent a lot of ground-balls from
getting past the infield.